


Worth the Wait

by NKI_Stories



Category: Naruto
Genre: Discord: Umino Hours, Fluff, Getting Together, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Umino Hours Exchange 2020, Undercover
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-27
Updated: 2020-08-27
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:27:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26138854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NKI_Stories/pseuds/NKI_Stories
Summary: Investigating your own comrade for treachery was a mission Tenzou never wanted to be on-- but like with many things in life, things don't always go the way you expect.
Relationships: Umino Iruka/Yamato | Tenzou
Comments: 34
Kudos: 83
Collections: Umino Undercover





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

  * For [hkandi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hkandi/gifts).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the amazing Hkandi, written for the Umino Hours Undercover Exchange. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy it ♡ 
> 
> Enormous thank you to RenGoneMad for brainstorming this fic with me and being an incredible Beta!! I don't think I'd have this finished in time without your help!

To say Tsunade was overwhelmed, was almost an understatement. First of all, she had never planned on returning to Konoha, and she especially never wanted to become Hokage. Then, a little brat with the name Naruto Uzumaki won her bet and convinced her otherwise. It wasn't like it was unusual for Tsunade to regret making a bet now and then, but this had to be the worst one yet. 

It would have been fine, kind of, if she could have been eased into the job and learned the ropes over some time— but no, she had to be thrown straight into it with no one to show her the way. She could only do the best she could, considering the devastating attack from Sound and Orochimaru three months ago. 

Since starting as Hokage a little over a month ago, the prioritized case on her hands was said attack. Everything that could go wrong that day, went wrong. The Sound seemed to know the weak points of their defensive structure and exploited them flawlessly. Orochimaru himself had managed to infiltrate Konoha, not only once, but twice in just a matter of a month. The snake Sannin was a skilled shinobi, no doubt about that, but it still proved to Tsunade that this village needed some major work on their defense and detecting enemy infiltration. Tsunade, did, of course, take into account that the hosting of the exams meant they were indeed more vulnerable in letting the wrong people pass their gates. But she still found this level of vulnerability unacceptable. 

So now, she had her hands full on settling in as a Hokage, protecting the village, delegating missions, and investigating the most recent attack.

She suspected there might have been an inside job where someone had informed Orochimaru of this sensitive information. 

Which meant there might be a spy in their ranks that needed to be rattled out. 

That's why Tsunade now found herself looking at recent incidents within Konoha, and found one that didn't sit quite right with her, despite having the traitor locked up behind bars. 

The stealing of the forbidden scroll. 

Naruto had been involved in that incident too, used and betrayed by one of his academy teachers. Tsunade was well aware that Naruto chose to see the best in people, which made him easy prey. Naruto was only 12 years old at the time; he was supposed to trust his superiors. Naruto was by no way a suspect in the matter, no— the person Tsunade was more curious about, was Umino Iruka. 

Looking through his file, she was trying to get a feel of who this man was, and she found his file to be almost too perfect. The only red mark in his file was from causing mission failure nearly 4 years ago, which basically happened to every shinobi at least once in their career, most often because they overestimated their own abilities. What made the event really stand out though, was Hiruzen's note: Too compassionate. It didn't explain much of Iruka's mishap, but all in all, being called compassionate wasn't the worst insult one could receive. 

Tsunade found absolutely nothing suspect in his file, which is exactly what caused her to be suspicious. Every shinobi had secrets, secrets they did not even want to reveal to their Hokage. Iruka had a fairly high-security clearance despite his current rank, which would give him easy access to sensitive information without raising any alarm. The more she read through the file, the more she decided the man had nothing special to make a note of, he appeared ordinary in every way. His greatest achievement seemed to be having the highest number of graduating students in the classes he teaches at the Academy.

The profile was fit for someone to easily go under the radar, for someone to go unnoticed. 

Tsunade only knew of the man because of his connection to Naruto, which was the single thing that seemed to make him noticeable at all at the current moment, and the one reason she was looking at his file, was because of his connection to a traitor. Taking a fūma shuriken to his back during the event spoke in Iruka's favor at the moment, but because Tsunade was naturally suspicious after growing up in a world filled with war, she couldn't help but wonder if Iruka had taken the blow to intentionally make himself seem less suspicious. 

She could summon the man, talk to him, ask him questions and personally get a feel of who he was as a person— but she worried it might spook him if he indeed was involved. 

No, catching the man red-handed was probably the better way. If Iruka was a traitor placed to gather information about the enemy, and had gone unnoticed for so long, the man was probably more skilled than he appeared.

They had to catch him in the act. 

Now, Tsunade didn't have time to spy on the man herself. She needed to assign someone to this as a mission.

If Iruka was a traitor (which she really hoped he wasn't), he had shown excellent skill in infiltration, fooling everyone into believing he was someone good, caring, and loyal. Tsunade needed someone who would not let emotions cloud their judgment… Someone taught and raised to put duty before everything else... Someone who would not be fooled by Iruka Umino's charm…

A sly smile spread itself on her youthful and beautiful face. 

"Shizune! Summon Cat for me, I have a mission for him!"


	2. Chapter 2

When Lady Tsunade had presented the case and Iruka's file to Tenzou, he had to admit he had his doubts. He didn't doubt her intelligence or her ability to succeed in her newly appointed responsibility as Hokage, but, in his opinion there was absolutely nothing in the Chunin's file to raise any suspicion. Of course, the Hokage explained to him why she found Iruka's character a potential threat, but Tenzou wasn't all convinced she was on the right track.

But as the dutiful and respectful person he was, he held his tongue and accepted the mission with no questions asked. He would gather as much information and evidence to prove whether or not Iruka Umino happened to be a traitor.

After receiving his mission, he spent the evening examining every little detail in Iruka's file to see if he could find anything at all to work by, but honestly, it was not much, if not nothing. He got the impression that Iruka might have been a little too soft for the standard shinobi life, but he still carried the values that inspired a Konoha Shinobi to put their life at risk for the sake of the citizens of their village.

Despite Iruka not being one to direct his career around missions, he still had a decent track record of A- and B-rank missions, so it wasn't like the man held no experience outside of the village walls.

Eventually, Tenzou decided he could not find anything of interest for his case in the given files and decided to get an early night before he started to observe the chunin the next day.

* * *

On the first day of observation, it was easy to identify the tanned man in the standard shinobi uniform, who also wore his hair in a high ponytail and had a distinctive scar across his nose that Tenzou had to admit, suited the man rather well.

Iruka greeted and was greeted by several people on his way to the Academy, and he stopped to talk with some as he made his way. Once he entered the Academy, he even chatted with his coworkers for a couple of minutes at the staff room. The chunin seemed to have a smile constantly attached to his face. Eventually, Iruka went to his classroom and prepared his material for the class before his students appeared and sat down in their respective seats.

Tenzou could already tell that Iruka was incredibly sociable and did not at all seem withdrawn or give any impressions of trying to hide under the radar.

As class started, Tenzou quickly learned that the students in Iruka's class had absolutely no discipline, and a child he recognized as the Third Hokage's grandson seemed to be the worst of them all. Konohamaru did not seem to be able to sit still. He was constantly stirring up trouble by sending _secret_ notes and whispering with his friends. Iruka often pretended like he didn't hear it, most likely to not disrupt the flow of the lecture for the other students, but Tenzou noticed the slightest turn of Iruka's head every time Konohamaru leaned towards his friends and spoke. Tenzou couldn't hear anything that was said from where he was cloaked and perched on a branch of a tree outside the classroom, but he could tell it was a whisper by the small and careful movements of Konohamaru's lips when he spoke.

Sometimes Iruka would spin around and place his hands on his hips and stare intently at the culprits of the disturbance in a scolding manner. The children would immediately straighten their backs and seal their lips in a thin line in an attempt to seem innocent, and Tenzou almost laughed out loud at how obvious they were. Even if Iruka had not been able to identify the wrongdoers based on voice, he certainly would be based on expressions and posture.

Tenzou also couldn’t help but notice the gentle smile and the fond look on Iruka's face when he turned away from his students to write something on the blackboard.

At the end of the day, Tenzou decided that the children had an attention span similar to a goldfish, and he couldn't help but grow some respect for the chunin's patience. Once the classes were done for the day, Iruka seemed to be exhausted and a few strands of hair had loosed from his earlier, neatly made ponytail. Had Tenzou been in his stead, he was fairly sure he would have used the Mokuton on half the students and simply forced them to keep the attention on what he was trying to teach them.

He was quite surprised to see that the boy who was so closely related to the Sandaime seemed to be the biggest terror of all of them. Tenzou would have thought a descendant from someone so highly respected and powerful would be more of a stickler for rules, and Tenzou shook his head in bafflement. Despite the boy being intolerable in ANBU's opinion, Iruka actually seemed to be quite fond of the boy's antics. Oh, Iruka did not show it for his students to pick up on, but Tenzou could see, even from this distance, how Iruka sometimes struggled to hold back a smile.

Iruka stayed back and tidied up the classroom that had been left in an utter mess before he gathered his things and left. On his way home Iruka stopped by a restaurant called Ichiraku Ramen and ordered a meal. He actively chatted with the owners, and they all seemed well acquainted and friendly with each other. Once Iruka finished his meal, he said his goodbyes and headed home. Once the chunin was inside, Tenzou found a spot on a nearby roof and managed to keep an eye on the chunin's activities through a window. Iruka did what Tenzou assumed to be routine by making tea, turning the radio on, and sitting down by the kotatsu and working on some more paperwork. Tenzou wasn’t completely sure what Iruka was working on, as he couldn’t enter the apartment and take a closer look, but it looked like he was grading papers.

* * *

On the second day, Tenzou got to witness a whole other side of the chunin. Iruka had taken the students with him outside to practice throwing kunais. The teacher was calm when he started speaking about safety and set some strict ground rules. Since they were now outside, Tenzou could tell he spoke to the students in a very serious manner.

It was only the second pre-genin's turn to try throwing the weapon when a stray kunai flew from somewhere in the line behind. From then on it was absolute chaos as Moegi started crying her heart out for losing some strands of hair and Iruka went full-on yelling at the offender. The absolute fury that filled the air when Iruka started scolding Konohamaru for his absolute recklessness made even Tenzou want to run away, and he was not even on the receiving end of it.

The kunai training seemed to end at that, to every student's disappointment. Iruka appeared to be on edge for the rest of the school day, but finally seemed to somewhat relax after heading to Ichiraku Ramen, enjoying what Tenzou could only assume was his favorite meal.

* * *

On the third day, Iruka had mission desk duty after school hours. Iruka seemed tired after dealing with twenty-five helions earlier in the day, but he didn't seem to mind and treated everyone who queued in his line respectfully and politely. He chatted excitedly with every single person and seemed to be generally well-liked by everyone. It wasn't until none other than Hatake Kakashi came slouching into the room that he saw Iruka tense up considerably. Tenzo had no idea what that was about, so he leaned forward on the rooftop he hid on, feeling a wave of curiosity take hold. Of course, he couldn't tell what was being said, but Iruka almost seemed reluctant to grab the scroll Kakashi held forward for him. As Iruka read through it, Tenzou noticed how Iruka clenched his fists and jaw and turned all red and furious at Kakashi. Iruka then plunged the scroll forcefully back into Kakashi’s arms. Kakashi seemed to grab it happily before he turned and left the room again.

Tenzou had the first-hand experience when it came to dealing with his senpai, and knew the man intentionally loved to rile people up. Iruka seemed to be a regular victim of such antics based on his reaction to the older man before he had even been handed the mission report.

After that, the remaining time at the mission desk seemed to go without any more incidents and Iruka ended his day by going once again to Ichiraku ramen.

Once Iruka had gone to sleep for the night, Tenzo went back home and planned the next part of his investigation. He could only learn so much from observing and thought it was time to start interacting with the man himself.

* * *

Planning where to make the first contact wasn't very difficult. Tenzou already had plenty of information about Iruka's work schedule, which made it easy to estimate what time Iruka most likely would be at Ichiraku's to order some pork and miso ramen.

How to actually start a conversation— that was the complicated part. Sure, Iruka seemed friendly with everyone, so that should make it considerably easier, but Tenzou was by no doubt a complete introvert and wasn't all that great on social interactions. He had gotten a lot better for sure, but he almost felt socially over-stimulated just from watching Iruka interact with others.

That being said, Tenzou was a little curious about Iruka beyond the set mission parameters. The other man interested him, and Tenzou wouldn't mind getting to know Iruka better if he turned out to be an innocent party in all this.

Tenzou was all for planning everything point for point before doing anything drastic on a given mission (such as interacting with a friendly chunin academy teacher), but for once he found himself deciding to wing it.

As anticipated, Iruka showed up on the minute of what Tenzou had estimated. The ANBU felt incredibly nervous while pretending to stare hopelessly at the menu. Iruka sat down a few seats over, but Tenzou pretended not to notice. He wasn't exactly sure what to do in order to gain Iruka's attention, but he didn’t want to be obvious or raise any suspicion. So he simply went with trying to look completely lost trying to figure out what to order.

It didn't take long until he got the response he wanted.

"First time eating here, shinobi-san?"

Tenzou turned to the kind voice and his gaze landed on Iruka's curious eyes. He scratched his neck awkwardly.

"Uhm, yes, I am trying to figure out what to order. Most of the menu sounds delicious, so it's hard to decide." Tenzou replied, smiling inwardly at the success of making contact.

Iruka gave a small chuckle to that, and Tenzou found himself smiling for real at the lovely and pure sound.

"That's because everything on the menu indeed is amazing." Iruka smiled at him.

"Well, that doesn't help me much, maybe I should just toss a coin and let it decide for me?" Tenzou asked with a smirk.

Iruka shook his head in amusement.

"Why don't you try the pork and miso ramen? It's my favorite."

Tenzou knew this already of course, but he looked at the menu and scanned for the dish Iruka had mentioned. He then nodded for himself before turning back to Iruka.

"Thank you for the suggestion, shinobi-san. Since you seem to be an expert at the matter, It would be foolish of me to rebel."

Suddenly there was a mischievous look on Iruka's face and he looked smugly at the undercover Anbu.

"Genius, thank you."

"Huh?"

"I'm not just an expert, but I'm a genius when it comes to Ichiraku Ramen." Iruka clarified, looking smug.

Tenzou let out a laugh at that, and Iruka seemed pleased with himself.

"On that note, I guess it would be foolish not to follow your suggestion." Tenzou answered, signaling the owner and giving his order.

"So… I'm guessing you eat here often, then?" Tenzou asked Iruka, who revealed a bright blush while trying to hide it by scratching his scar.

"Uhh, yes I suppose. And I'm guessing you don't?" Iruka said teasingly, obviously feigning ignorance.

"What gave it away? Tenzou replied, smiling.

"I'm an Ichiraku Ramen genius, remember."

Tenzou laughed, amused by Iruka's antics. Just a few minutes in, and Iruka seemed like a fun and interesting person to chat with. Tenzou had yet to find anything suspicious about the man.

“I’m Iruka, by the way, in case you don’t feel comfortable with calling me a genius all the time.” Iruka said and held his hand out for a greeting. Tenzou grabbed it and shook it, still with a smile on his face.

“Thank you for helping me with your genius abilities Iruka-san, I’m Yamato.” He replied, and Iruka’s forever going smile, widened.

They continued to chat after they both received their orders, and Iruka revealed to Tenzou that he worked at the Academy. When Iruka spoke about his job and students, he spoke with such passion it almost felt infectious. Iruka undoubtedly loved his job, and it shone through by how he talked and how he couldn't stop smiling. Even when he spoke about some of his students' pranks, a smile was still plastered to the scarred face and there was a spark to be seen in his eyes.

Tenzou found he really enjoyed listening to Iruka's stories. He felt a slight strain on his face as he couldn't help smiling and laughing at everything Iruka was telling him. 

Eventually, they finished their food and it was time to go their separate ways. Tenzou found himself feeling strangely disappointed by the fact.

He enjoyed spending time in Iruka's company.

That night Tenzou put all his work and research together, trying desperately to find any clue that might prove Iruka to be a traitor. If Iruka happened to be one, he had to be incredibly good at hiding malicious intent. No warning bells rang whenever he looked at the man, and Tenzou had to wonder why Tsunade would waste her resources on such a mission when they had nothing to go on.

Not that Tenzou minded. He actually enjoyed observing Iruka and he had a good time chatting with the man. If anything, this mission felt like a vacation he was being paid to have. Tenzou decided there were no clues yet, and that Tsunade, in her one month of being Hokage, must already be exhausted by the job. But a mission was a mission and Tenzou was seeing it through.

* * *

Tenzou continued to observe Iruka, with no result of suspicious activity, and he occasionally timed himself to be at Ichiraku where they kept chatting excitedly almost every other day. He intentionally did not go every day, as that would undoubtedly raise suspicion, but often enough to show some kind of interest. What interest he was showing, Tenzou wasn't sure, but he was starting to think it wasn't quite platonic anymore— Which could be a problem.

One was not supposed to have a crush on the target, and it had never been a problem before. Sure, he had faked being romantically interested in a target on missions before, but that never left him feeling excited and nervous at the same time. It certainly never made him feel like dancing around in his living room while watering his plants or daydream about going on a real date with Iruka. Not just feel like doing... But actually _do_.

If such things were to happen, protocol said to abort the mission and report straight away to the person in charge. Tenzou was one for following protocol to almost the extreme and never swayed away from it. But he found himself selfishly not wanting to, solely based on the fact that he had nothing yet to report on Iruka.

So he continued to see Iruka with the excuse that it was a mission and he was still gathering information and evidence.

Iruka seemed happy every time he walked into the restaurant and saw Tenzou already sitting there. After the first week of meeting regularly, they had closed the distance and sat side by side with no chairs in between them. Tenzou had a good laugh every single time and Iruka seemed to do the same. Tenzou ended up sharing small details about himself, but he was careful to not reveal too much. He knew Iruka was curious to know more, but he respectfully did not ask too many questions when Tenzou seemed hesitant to answer them. Despite that, in the second week, Tenzou started to notice how their arms would sometimes bump into each other or how touches seemed to linger a little longer than what was absolutely necessary.

Tenzou truly enjoyed being in Iruka’s company and unless he had read the situation wrong, Iruka seemed to rather enjoy his company back.


	3. Chapter 3

Iruka was good with faces and easily remembered names of people he'd met. He saw and chatted with plenty of people almost every day, and his work at the Academy and mission desk gave him a good insight into the overall shinobi community. Even if he didn’t see or meet everyone, he was around enough gossip to know who most people were. On top of that, Iruka also had a talent for recognizing chakra, so if he ever was in doubt, he often could feel whether or not he found the chakra familiar, and that familiarity was as if it etched itself into his bones like a permanent tattoo. He never forgot a chakra signature once it was within 20 feet from him— which had made him incredibly curious about the man dressed in the standard Konoha shinobi uniform, looking completely lost at the Ichiraku Ramen menu.

Iruka could not recognize the man based on his face; there were no distinctive features that made Iruka think of anyone described on the gossip mill, and knew he had never encountered the chakra signature before. It seemed to be drawn towards the earth and the water glass on the counter. It told Iruka that this was a comrade he had not only never seen or met, but never been close enough to identify from any earlier encounters.

This made Iruka wonder if the man could have been one of those posted on a long term mission somewhere away from Konoha, or if they simply never crossed paths. And if the last one was the case, he doubted the man really went out much. Iruka had even asked some of the other mission desk workers if they had ever seen Yamato before, describing his look and how he wore a happuri instead of the normal forehead protector. When they told him no, Iruka concluded Yamato must be a very secluded ANBU.

That was not an issue by any means, but it made Iruka incredibly curious. Outstanding abilities and skills weren't the only requirements to be ANBU; they had to have mental stability with it— Though what mental stability meant in that context was unknown. Iruka knew of a few ANBU whose identities had become known, and every single one of them was pretty eccentric in nature.

But Yamato almost seemed… _Normal_. He was undeniably polite and spoke with and about people with respect. He didn't appear to be arrogant or think himself above Iruka, despite their obvious difference in rank. If anything, the man seemed slightly shy and sometimes a little awkward.

He definitely did not have a face Iruka would forget. The man was beautiful, and he had some of the most expressive eyes Iruka had seen, even though by nature he seemed somewhat reserved. Iruka found that he really enjoyed both the other man's company and looking at him.

Yamato had a good sense of humor and Iruka found the man incredibly entertaining. The man was well adapted in sarcasm, but not to an overly and exhausting extent. On more serious matters and discussions, he always had some interesting input and often pointed out some stuff Iruka had never even thought or considered before. He found himself listening intently when Yamato talked, and noticed that Yamato listened intently in return.

Iruka had always looked forward to going to Ichiraku and eating their delicious ramen, but even more so now that Yamato was often to be found there. After three weeks of seeing the man regularly, Iruka had to admit he had developed a strong crush on the man.

Iruka had liked Yamato from the first time of meeting him, and one of Iruka’s favorite activities quickly became to make the other man flustered, so he would be allowed to look at the brilliant blush that appeared on Yamato’s face. Sometimes, when Iruka told him stories about some of his students' antics, the assumed ANBU would sit there with a small smile on his face.

It was a content smile, and it made the butterflies in Iruka's stomach go crazy.

Iruka was curious and hopelessly crushing like a genin. Yamato wasn't giving much of himself, but enough to know that the man’s favorite snack was walnuts, he liked to study architecture, and sometimes he’d do some woodwork.

Iruka really, really liked Yamato— which was why he found himself blurting out and inviting him for dinner, somewhere that wouldn’t be Ichiraku. Not that Iruka would have minded going on a date where they were currently sitting, but he thought that going somewhere else, might emphasize the fact that Iruka was asking for a date.

Yamato’s eyes went wide and the most radiant flush sneaked itself up from the man's neck and upwards towards his face. Iruka could see Yamato swallow nervously even underneath the fabric that went up to his chin. Iruka found the motion adorable.

Yamato inhaled deeply, before giving Iruka an apologetic look. Iruka felt the disappointment drop instantly to his stomach.

"Ah, I—I am sorry, Iruka-san, but now... might not be the best time.” Yamato replied looking apologetic.

Iruka bit his lip. Iruka really had thought Yamato was interested in more than friendship based on some of the looks he had given Iruka. Iruka hated rejection, it was one of those things that left him feeling incredibly insecure and would affect his mood for days after. It didn’t help that Iruka didn’t experience it often, as he very rarely ever asked anything of anyone. Iruka had really felt like he and Yamato had connected beyond friendship, so the rejection really hurt. But, he denied that he had been wishfully thinking that the feelings had been mutual; he knew they were.

Iruka was pulled out of his stupor when warm hands grabbed his wrists. Iruka’s eyes snapped up to meet Yamato’s beautiful brown and golden ones.

“It just isn’t a good time right now, but maybe… Perhaps... “ Yamato bit his lip before letting out a loud sigh.

“Maybe soon? If you are ok with waiting a little longer?”

There was a small plea in Yamato’s voice and Iruka found himself swallowing nervously.

Iruka would love to wait for Yamato, but he would like to know why they had to wait. Why would later be better than now? Did Yamato need more time to decide if he really wanted Iruka or not? Did he have someone else he’d rather be with?

Maybe Yamato had a good reason, but Iruka needed to know what it was. He didn’t want to keep his hopes up if it turned out Yamato just left him waiting. He’d rather have the plaster ripped off the wound quickly than having it peeled slowly.

But Yamato seemed completely genuine...

“Why? Why is it better later? Either you want to go on a date, or you don’t.” Iruka could hear the hurt that was carried through in his own voice. But he couldn't help it, he had to ask.

Yamato closed his eyes at that, and hung his head, resting his chin on his chest. He gave Iruka a light squeeze with his hands before he let go and put some distance between them.

"It's complicated, and I… Sorry, but I can't tell you." Yamato replied sadly.

Iruka rolled his eyes, feeling extremely annoyed at being handed the cliche _‘It’s complicated’_ line. Obviously Yamato wasn’t interested in Iruka that way, and Iruka had just made a fool of himself for being brave enough to ask. Yamato couldn't even show him enough respect to just tell him the truth, which he felt would be easier to accept.

Yamato looked slightly hurt by the motion, but at the moment, Iruka didn’t care. He could be ok with Yamato saying no, but the answer he had just been given, wasn’t really an answer at all.

Iruka stood abruptly and threw some money on the counter to pay for his ramen, before he turned around and walked out of the restaurant, leaving Yamato behind.

* * *

Iruka slammed his door as he entered his apartment. He was well aware he was acting like a small child, but the disappointment at being rejected by someone he believed had mutual feelings was strong.

Iruka dragged a hand over his face and let himself calm down a little.

Crap...

Iruka never did handle rejection or confrontation very well, he always let his temper get the best of him. He realized he had overreacted. Yamato had every right to say no, whatever his reason was. But the truth was, he simply hadn’t expected Yamato to say no. They had been flirting, Iruka knew they had, so Yamato turning down Iruka’s offer didn’t make a whole lot of sense.

Even if Iruka knew next to nothing about Yamato, his gut feeling told him Yamato wasn’t playing around and that Yamato was indeed interested. He probably had a good reason to say no.

Iruka felt like hitting his head repeatedly into the wall.

If Yamato was reluctant to go on a date, it might be an extremely personal matter or even mission-related. Iruka had no right to treat Yamato the way he just did. He had once again let his emotions take control of his actions before he even considered them. Yamato had after all asked Iruka to wait, he never actually said no.

Crap… Yamato told him to wait. Which basically had been a yes.

Iruka was such a fool.

Throwing himself into his couch and covering his eyes with his arm, Iruka let the shame develop inside him, leaving burns at every turn.

_Yamato had basically said yes._

Iruka had to fix this the next time he saw Yamato. He would turn every rock in Konoha if that meant it could maybe fix things again. He honestly didn’t know where to find Yamato; all their meetings were at Ichiraku Ramen, and Iruka hadn’t wanted to pry. But he would keep looking and ask around; if that meant making it up to the other man.

Iruka stayed on his couch for the rest of the night, not even realizing he'd fallen asleep until there was a loud knock on the door. Iruka blinked his eyes open and looked towards the window to estimate what time it was. His neck felt incredibly stiff at the movement.

Based on how the light shone through his window, it was sometime early morning. Iruka needed a moment to think what day it was.

Saturday, so no school today then.

There was another set of knocks on his door and Iruka fought with the cushions as he stood up from the couch and walked to the door.

Iruka wasn't sure who he had expected when opening it, but Yamanaka Inoichi was not one of them.


	4. Chapter 4

Tenzou hadn't been sure what to do from the moment Iruka stormed out of Ichiraku. For the first time in his life, he had felt what he assumed to be heartbroken. He didn't want to say no when Iruka asked him, every cell in his body and mind screamed for him to say yes.

But he couldn't.

He could have said yes with the excuse that it was for the mission, but Tenzou didn't want that; he wanted to say yes because it was something he wanted to do for himself. And, he knew if he said yes and developed a relationship before his mission was over, he would forever carry with him that the relationship started based on a lie.

Either way, Tenzou could no longer complete the mission without being biased. At the moment, he favored Iruka over the mission he had been given and trusted with, and that was a failure he had to stand up and admit to.

Iruka most likely wouldn't want to speak to Tenzou again anyway, so Tenzou had no real reason to be selfish anymore and ignore what he had been tasked to do.

So, he finally went to Tsunade and reported his lack of success and his personal failure.

Tsunade was not happy with him, and Tenzou felt a sharp shame for now having contributed to one of the many cracks in her solid desk. It was even a desk that he had built for her after she had destroyed several of the standard ones within a few weeks of being Hokage.

When she finally settled down, she asked him if he had any results or clues at all, and if he could try to stay passive long enough to judge whether or not he thought Iruka was guilty.

He tried to stay passive, and he thought he was, but he couldn't be a hundred percent sure when he replied that he thought Iruka to be innocent and that he had found nothing to even make him consider otherwise. He explained that Iruka was too expressive and temperamental to possibly hold any ill intent towards Konoha and still manage to keep it hidden.

Tsunade was skeptical and disappointed. She also admitted she would have to send someone else to continue the investigation in his stead. Tenzou hoped they would let it go, but he understood Tsunade's dilemma.

Despite failing his mission, Tenzou decided he could keep an eye on the mission status filed in the ANBU quarters to know when the investigation ended. There were no mission details in those files, except mission number and status, but It was enough to let Tenzou figure out what Iruka’s current situation was.

If the mission status was listed as complete, and Iruka was still to be seen about, maybe he could finally approach Iruka without ulterior motives and try to earn himself a second chance. If Iruka was innocent, then there was no reason for Tenzou to not fix what he broke. He wanted to make thing’s right with Iruka. He was drawn to the chunin, and considering Iruka had been the one to ask him for a date, he knew Iruka was drawn to him too.

Tenzou checked the file every day for the next week before he was sent out on a short, estimated five-day solo mission. The mission went without a hitch and Tenzou even completed it within four days.

The first thing he did after reporting back was to check the status of Iruka’s investigation.

Completed.

Instead of feeling relief, Tenzou suddenly felt incredibly anxious. What if Iruka was found guilty? What if Iruka was currently being held in a cell for crimes Tenzou hadn’t been able to determine?

Tenzou was out the door the next second. He skipped taking a shower and headed straight to the Academy where classes should still be on-going. As Tenzou got closer, he slowed down, nervous for what he might learn, wishing desperately for himself that Iruka would be there.

His heart skipped a beat once he got an eye on the familiar ponytail and Iruka's infamous scolding face. Konohamaru and his two friends were covered in pink glitter from head to toe and looked incredibly shameful.

Relief flooded Tenzou from seeing such a familiar sight.

Iruka was deemed innocent.

Tenzou let out a laugh. He hadn't believed Iruka to possibly be guilty, but knowing for sure felt amazing.

Tenzou stayed a while watching Iruka teach before he decided it was time to take a shower and change. Afterward, he would see if Iruka would show up at Ichiraku and hope that he could salvage their friendship.

* * *

Tenzou was nervous when he approached Ichiraku. He wasn't quite sure what to say to Iruka, but hoped he could figure it out in the moment.

He rounded the corner and saw Iruka sitting by the counter, his heart skipped several beats. Once Tenzou reached the entrance and stood approximately 15 feet from Iruka, the Academy teacher whipped his head around and stared at Tenzou with wide eyes.

Tenzou froze where he stood, not quite sure how to approach from now on. Iruka blinked a few times before his expression turned into a scowl, and he gestured for Tenzou to sit.

Tenzou swallowed nervously, but he did sit down next to Iruka, not quite sure why Iruka was even bothering to be in his presence. He ordered himself pork and miso ramen and turned to look back at Iruka who was still smiling at him.

Iruka was the first to break the silence.

"So, did you ever plan on telling me you were investigating me?" Iruka bluntly asked.

Tenzou froze for a second time after entering the ramen place.

"Uh—" He tried before he was interrupted.

"I must admit I wasn't quite pleased when Yamanaka Inoichi showed up at my door with an order from the Hokage to prod my mind for suspicious activity. And I have to admit it wasn't a very pleasant experience."

Iruka said it with narrowed and accusing eyes. Tenzou suddenly felt like one of Iruka’s student’s being scolded and he found he didn’t like feeling like he had disappointed Iruka. He wasn't sure what to say, so he stayed quiet, which seemed to be the right thing as Iruka continued.

"It took several days before I got sent a document that claimed to consider me innocent in an investigation I didn't even know about. I had a lot of time to think during those days since I wasn't allowed to work at the academy."

"Iruka, I—" Tenzou tried, but Iruka interrupted him again.

"That was when the pieces fell in place and I figured you were in on it."

There was a slight sadness to the conclusion. Iruka took a deep breath, and Tenzou decided to just wait and listen to what Iruka had to say. He owed him that much.

"So I did the most sensible thing my brain could come up with and decided to give Hokage-Sama a piece of my mind. Oh, I can tell you she was deeply unhappy with the fact I figured you were ANBU, and she swore she would rip your head off."

Tenzou gasped. Iruka had figured it out, which was a breach of protocol and enough for his superiors to put him through some brutal disciplinary action. Though... he had just reported to Tsunade a few hours back, and she never even mentioned it.

"Of course, I couldn't have that, because that would likely cause me having to wait even longer for our date."

Tenzou's brain short-circuited. He couldn’t comprehend how Iruka had found out Tenzou had been lying the entire time— and he still wanted to go on a date?

"So, I distracted her by making a bet with her, promising I would get Kakashi to deliver a proper report next time, which she claimed to be impossible. If I win, she'll permit me to know your full identity and codename, with approval of our relationship."

Tenzou's eyes went wide. He had absolutely not expected that, and a giddy feeling towered in his stomach just by the fact that Iruka was hinting about a relationship just like that. They hadn't even kissed yet, and Tenzou couldn't help but think he had to change that very soon.

And thinking about it, Tsunade _had_ seemed a little smug.

"Oh, I was mad to start with," Iruka suddenly said."...but I realize that you were just following orders, and you were right to decline a date while the investigation was still on. I cannot fault you for that. If anything, I appreciate it."

Iruka then gave Tenzou a warm smile and reached out with one hand to cup his face. Tenzou couldn't help but lean into the touch.

"So, Yamato, as that's the name I know you by for now, will you finally go to dinner with me?"

Tenzou let out an abrupt laugh of joy, and the butterflies in his stomach went on an absolute rampage. Tenzou put his hand over Iruka's and gave him a bright smile.

"Yes, I would love to, Iruka."

Iruka let out a small laugh as well and leaned forward to rest his head against Tenzou's shoulder. Tenzou instinctively wrapped his arms around Iruka and held him tight. They stayed like that for a while, just enjoying the moment.

Eventually, Tenzou had to ask about something he couldn't quite ignore. He pulled Iruka slightly away so he could see his face.

"So, you're telling me you've just been cleared of any suspicious activity, and you decided it was a good idea to manipulate the Hokage for your own personal benefit?"

Iruka blinked a few times and suddenly looked horror-struck as realization dawned upon him. His face went into a brilliant color of red.

"Oh my goodness! I didn't even think of that! I… I just acted! Now she's going to have my head instead."

Iruka threw his arms up in alarm and looked like he was about to have a panic attack, and Tenzou couldn't stop himself. He grabbed Iruka's arms and pulled him towards himself so he could put his lips over Iruka's.

Iruka immediately relaxed and melted into the kiss; pressing his own lips softly against Tenzou’s. He blinked at Tenzou in awe when they finally broke apart.

"If anything comes from it, it would be a promotion. Not everyone can manipulate a Hokage and get away with it."

Iruka seemed to need a moment to allow the words to comfort him before he laughed lightly and pulled Tenzou in for another kiss.

* * *

They were both too occupied to notice the Copy-nin smile to himself in a tree nearby pretending to read Icha Icha.

Iruka had come to him all flustered and embarrassed, saying success with his future husband depended on Kakashi’s next report being perfect. Kakashi had agreed to put the extra work into his report, though he hadn't originally planned on going through with it.

The bizarre request had left him curious, so he’s done what any skilled shinobi would do, and followed Iruka to figure out who this future husband might be.

To say he was surprised to learn it was Tenzou, his precious Kohai, would be an understatement. But he saw the way Tenzou looked at Iruka with such adoration in his eyes, and Kakashi figured doing the temperamental chunin this small favor wouldn't hurt.

Oh, he was well aware it would be his own head Tsunade would rip off, but it couldn't be helped.

He sighed, shut his book, and stood. He took one last glance at the two men who were obviously hopelessly in love before he headed home to work on his pristine and perfect mission report.

Oh yes, Tenzou might end up having to make Tsunade a new desk.


End file.
